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A Medical Classic: Al-Razi’s Treatise on Smallpox and Measles

Kitab fi Al Jadari wa Al Hasaba authored by the Muslim physician Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (d. ca. 925) is one of the books that remained popular and in great demand for over a millennium, and was also repeatedly translated into many languages. This Treatise on Smallpox and Measles was the first comprehensive text on this disease. In the following short note, Dr. Nasim Hasan Naqvi presents this text, its main contents and its historical context.

Figure 1. The Tabula Rogeriana, drawn by al-Idrisi for Roger II of Sicily in 1154, one of the most advanced ancient world maps. Modern consolidation, created from the 70 double-page spreads of the original atlas. (Source)